by Nate Davis, USA TODAY Sports

by Nate Davis, USA TODAY Sports

Rob Chudzinski polished his NFL coaching credentials working for Norv Turner in San Diego. Now he's hired his former boss to be the Cleveland Browns' new offensive coordinator.

Turner, one of the league's most admired minds and play callers was hired Thursday, six days after Chudzinski became Cleveland's new head coach.

"Norv has been one of the most respected offensive coaches in the NFL over the last 25-30 years, and he has had a tremendous amount of success at each one of his stops - as a position coach, coordinator and head coach," Chudzinski said in a statement.

"I was able to learn a great deal in the time that I worked for him in San Diego, and I expect that having him as our offensive coordinator will make a big impact on that side of the ball."

Turner has had middling success as a head coach for the Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers (118-126-1). The Bolts fired him after a 7-9 season capped a 24-24 stretch since 2010.

His offenses generally ranged from average to good in Washington and Oakland but were usually among the league's elite in San Diego. He won two rings as the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator after the 1992 and 1993 seasons and had a major hand in the development of Hall-of-Fame quarterback Troy Aikman.

Turner's arrival should bode well for Browns running back Trent Richardson. Emmitt Smith, Ricky Williams and LaDainian Tomlinson all won rushing crowns with Turner calling the shots.

The last two seasons aside, when many of the Chargers' woes seemed to stem from poor offensive line play, Philip Rivers was also a Pro Bowl-level quarterback and was fiercely loyal to Turner. Brandon Weeden, whose skill set roughly mirrors Rivers though Weeden has a bigger arm, would seem to have a good chance to thrive under Turner as well, especially if Cleveland wideouts Josh Gordon and Greg Little continue to develop. Anchored by Joe Thomas, Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz, the Browns appear to have one of the league's best O-lines.

Chudzinski, who served as Turner's tight ends/assistant head coach in 2009 and 2010 in San Diego, was lauded for his fearless play calling and tutelage of Cam Newton the past two seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

Importing Turner allows Chudzinski to focus on the overarching responsibilities of a rookie head coach while knowing the play calling and game planning are in good hands.